Forgetting the Tears
by RainyJuly
Summary: What will our two hopeless lovebirds do when there's nothing holding them back besides themselves? Will they be able to keep it together while everything around them is falling apart? A story of love, war, and broken hearts


**A/N: Hey everyone! This is just a little spin off that scene in Deathly Hallows Part One where Harry asked Hermione to dance after Ron leaves. I can't be the only one who feels the vibes between these two characters so here ya go! In official voice: "I do not, nor will I ever own these characters and I'm still as broke as I was yesterday."**

**Story warnings:** Explicit smut, language, het, gore, and emotional roller coasters: H/Hm main and implied Hm/R and H/G

**Extended Summary:** When Ron's away, suppressed feelings come out to play. What will our two hopeless lovebirds do when there's nothing holding them back besides themselves? Secrets will be revealed and true pasts will come to light. Will they be able to keep it together while everything around them is falling apart? A story of love, war, and broken hearts.

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**(Prologue) Heartbeat Radio**

It was _cold_. Wasn't it always? Days kept freezing into nights and nights kept melting into depression-filled dreams and pitiful moments of silence like that one. The room felt empty, probably because it was. I was convinced he left me on purpose. Left me alone, left me waiting, wanting, debating whether it was the right choice to let him walk away. Not that I could have stopped the stubborn oaf if I tried. He left me when I was at my lowest, when he knew I would miss him the most. Did he have to pick now?, I thought as a tear sneaked down my cheek. I smeared it away with my palm when I heard the tent flap rustle. Harry didn't need to see me like this.

My attention was on the static being produced by the portable radio that nearly drove Ron mad. Names were rambled off each day and night of the missing or murdered. The distinction barely mattered. When people vanish for more than a day it's best to just start writing the obituary, if they even do that anymore. I hoped, no, _prayed,_ that I wouldn't hear his name. Or my mum or dads'. After all I went through to protect them it would be… I dragged my pullover closer to me and shuddered. I couldn't finish the thought. My eyes wandered to a book that I'd forgotten about hours before. I really should get back to it, if only to keep my mind busy for a while.

Harry stood next to me, for how long, I couldn't say. I don't know when he got there and I didn't care. I just wish he would talk or move or do something besides just standing and watching me make a spectacle of myself. Better yet, I wish he'd just leave me alone. A minute ticked by until I finally looked up, figuring that's what he was waiting for. My heart clenched when I caught sight of his. I missed the blue eyes on a freckled canvas with a wiry red-haired frame. Harry stood as tall and striking as ever. He was strong and warm and all other things desired but he just wasn't _him_. Tears prickled in my eyes and I wrinkled my nose at the sensation. I tried to wipe my face but strong fingers griped my forearm, stopping the motion before it could even start.

He tugged and I was on my feet, staring into that rugged face of his. Shadows from the gas lamps played across his features. I looked away.

"Harry…" My words faded at the feel of his fingers on my neck. My skin tingled under his light touch. I consciously leaned into it before realizing he was only taking the cursed metal from around my neck. I drew my arms across my middle, wondering why he couldn't ask for it like a normal person instead of making me stand up. He couldn't just do things the easy way, could he? Would that be too boring for the Wonder Boy? Moments later, the locket was around his neck and I attempted to sit down.

The strength and suddenness of his tug pulled me too far and I stumbled into his chest. For a second, one _warm_ second, I felt his arms around me as we both held each other to keep our balance. My throat was tight and he was staring just as intently as before. With a mumbled apology and a light push, I was held at arms' length again and the spell wore off. I breathed in slowly to calm my racing thoughts. That was what Ron was raging about just a couple of nights before. Moments like those, where I didn't mind if Harry held me too close even with Ron glowering at us in the corner. I bet he thought it was a smart move to leave me alone with the same person he accused of stealing me away.

"The food's still hot." I rasped. Oh why did my voice have to sound like I had cried for hours? I bet I looked it too. "I was-"

"Thinking? Aren't you always?" Harry said. My lips curved into a wry grin as music began cranking out of the old radio. How does he always know what I'm about to say? Yeah, that was the first thing that came to my mind. Not the radio changing stations on its own or the volume rising or even the flames dimming minutely. When you're around Harry, peculiar stuff like that came with the territory.

During my inner monologue, said Boy-Who-Lived began swaying. Somehow I found it in me to laugh.

"Oh come on, Harry. How many times do I have to tell you I'm pants at dancing?"

"You're not getting out of this one," he said as he took my hands in his. I fitted easily in the center of his calloused palm. "So you should quit wasting your breath."

A smile played on his lips when he raised my arm. I sighed dramatically before twirling under it.

A new station was dialed and the room was soon filled with soft guitar chords and soothing undertones. My eyes rolled at his choice of music but I continued swaying anyway.

"Harry, this is quite absurd." I whispered.

"You're absurd." He replied softly. He pulled me a closer and wrapped an arm around my waist. I tried not to gasp, but failed.

"H-how so?" I asked. He just smiled knowingly and continued moving in a slow circle. I danced along after a while, having already given up on getting an answer from the raven. He was always like this these days. I kept catching glimpses of the clock on the wall. Before the dancing, I was waiting for him to get back so he could eat and we could sleep. We had to be up at dawn.

Two songs later I found my cheek against his chest and my arms around his torso. His hands were on my lower back and our bodies were less than a hair's width apart. At some point Harry had begun humming along with the new tune and I could hear his heartbeat keeping time with the vibrations in his rib cage. I was hesitant to ruin this moment. It would be easier to just forget how awkward this should be and continue moving in lazy circles.

"Feeling better?" He asked. Tears sprung at the reminder of why I was crying in the first place. I nodded quickly, squeezing my eyes shut in an attempt to keep them from falling. He sighed and I could tell that he knew I was lying. He always does. I don't know why I bother in the first place. "Want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to say."

"But more than enough to cry about?" he asked. His thumb grazed my cheek, wiping a tear away as it ran down. "He'll come back. He always does."

I bunched up his shirt between my fingers so I could have something to transfer my pain into instead of squeezing him to death. Try as I might, I couldn't hold it in and the dam broke. A wave of anger and sadness rushed through me like a freight train and ran down my face. Pretty soon I was sobbing my heart out. Pathetic.

"I-I don't know...this time... I don't even…How could he do this to me? How could he leave? _Again?_" My voice was cracking up. I sounded like a character right off the screen of some ridiculous soap opera but I couldn't stop. Harry didn't say anything for a while so I took the opportunity to let it all out into the fabric of his wrinkled tee. "Why do I care so much?"

"Ah, that's the spirit. Ron's really not worth getting so worked up over."

He moved me over to my bed and sat me down, all the while stroking my hair and telling me a thousand times how stupid it was to cry over this.

I nodded profusely at everything he said but still couldn't get myself to stop sobbing like an idiot. Harry began pulling off my boots.

"It's not just him. This whole thing, the war, my parents. Fighting deatheaters and all this horcrux business... I really want to help but the stress is killing me, Harry. I don't think I can do this anymore..." He hushed my blubbering. I let hem. I just wanted to curl up and sleep and I figured the sooner I calmed down, the sooner I could lay down.

"You're strong, beautiful, and the smartest witch of your age." He said. "Of course you can do this, Hermione. No one else fits the job description."

He toed off his boots and socks while laying his jacket next to mine. I gathered my hair into a messy knot, figuring that Harry was set on going to sleep without dinner. He had free will so I didn't pester him about it. I tossed my pullover somewhere on the floor as I slipped under the covers. _God_, they felt absolutely _perfect_. Sleep was already clouding my vision.

"I know, but Ron-"

"Will be fine without you for a couple of days." He walked towards me instead of his bed. I gave him a funny look and sat up. He either didn't notice or was too tired to care. His arms wrapped around my middle and pulled me back down into the transfigured blankets. I didn't protest. It was a cold night anyway. "I, however, wouldn't last five seconds in these woods on my own."

I laughed as he settled under the sheets.

"That's the understatement of the year. I bet you still can't remember that _Point Me_ is more reliable than a compass. Especially a makeshift one made from twigs, my watch magnet, and a flat stone."

"Yeah, yeah, it was hilarious. At least Ron told me instead of just standing there and laughing." I laughed again at his indignation. If I remembered correctly, he even tried to using the sun as a guide for east and west, and failed miserably at it.

"Oh he was laughing all right. He just took pity on you sooner."

My merriment ceased when his fingers found their way to my neck for the second time of the night. The shock of the touch set a shiver down my spine.

"See, I need you." Harry said, pulling stray hairs out of my face. I could feel the weight of his other hand on my waist and his breath on my skin. Everything was quiet and still. Thank God I was facing away from him and the lighting was dim or else he would've seen how bright red my cheeks were. When did the music stop and when did our bodies get so close together? "I'd be so lost without you."

I couldn't find anything to say to his declaration. Maybe there wasn't anything to say. Forget about being cold. Now I was warm. Too warm. The gas lamps flickered off and shadows were left with only the light of the dying fire to dance in.

"Harry…I don't think…" He pulled me closer, my back now pressed fully against his torso.

"Stop trying to analyze this." He whispered. I nodded, my voice suddenly nowhere to be found. A minute later, he was still holding me obscenely close and my heart was still hammering away in my throat. I could feel his chest rising and falling against my back and his legs tangled between mine. His arms wound around my middle tighter if that were even possible.

"Go to _sleep_, Hermione." He mumbled against my skin. "We'll talk about it in the morning."

And with that, he became silent. I listened to him breathe for a while before pulling the arm that was around my waist to my chest. I clasped my fingers in his and held his hand close.

It was just me and him, in our own little corner of the world. "We'll talk about it in the morning." I repeated softly. And with that, I closed my eyes and followed him into dreamless oblivion.

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**A/N: Like it? Love it? Think it's a piece of crap and a waste of your time? R&R!**


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